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Features Archive:

2008 Archive:
Spirits of Christmas and Holidays Past By Edward Shanahan
December 19, 2008


Don't Bark At Me, I'm Not The Dog In The Mirror - by Lee Prosser
December 14, 2008

Column - regular feature

Welcome to Your Psychic Life By Tiffany Johnson
December 1, 2008


Fresh Paths to the Paranormal By Beth Brown
November 26, 2008


The Journals of Willard David Firestone: American Indians - by Lee Prosser
November 21, 2008

Column - regular feature

The Haunted Cemetery - Ghost Chronicles
November 12, 2008

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Jeff Belanger and Who's Haunting the White House? - Ghost Chronicles
October 24, 2008

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Ectoplasm - by Lee Prosser
October 20, 2008

Column - regular feature

Salem Witch Shawn Poirier - Ghost Chronicles
October 15, 2008

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Most Famous Phenomenon by Jeff Belanger
October 8, 2008


Haunted House Diary - Ghost Chronicles
October 1, 2008

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Paranormal Journaling: A First Step by Jeff Belanger
September 30, 2008


More Horrific Predictions - by Lee Prosser
September 26, 2008

Column - regular feature

Francis Thompson (1859 - 1907) - by Lee Prosser
September 18, 2008

Column - regular feature

Evolution of an Entity by Danielle Lee
September 12, 2008


Into the Abyss: Ancient Rites of Exorcism by Bishop Daniel Garguillio
September 2, 2008


Lee Prosser and Jill Peacha - by Lee Prosser
September 1, 2008

Column - regular feature

An Open Letter to the Paranormal Community by Peter James Haviland
August 28, 2008


Return to Mystery Hill - Ghost Chronicles
August 20, 2008

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

The Ghost of Cameron Mitchell at Branson, Missouri - by Lee Prosser
August 8, 2008

Column - regular feature

Confessions of a Grief Councilor - Ghost Chronicles
August 6, 2008

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

The Residual "Jiggle" by Jack Roth
July 31, 2008


Farwell to Chris Balzano - Ghost Chronicles
July 23, 2008

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

A Matter of Respect by Patrick Burke
July 21, 2008


Economic Collapse and Depression in the United States - by Lee Prosser
July 14, 2008

Column - regular feature

The Portsmouth Lighthouse - Ghost Chronicles
July 9, 2008

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Legends Set in Stone by Beth Brown
July 3, 2008


Investigating the Pukwudgies - Ghost Chronicles
June 25, 2008

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Sensitive - by Lee Prosser
June 20, 2008

Column - regular feature

Ghost Hunting Etiquette 102 by Danielle Quinlan Lee
June 13, 2008


Allup, Leiru, Ligil, Uriel, Pulla - by Lee Prosser
May 23, 2008

Column - regular feature

Ohio's Haunted History by Sherri Brake-Recco
May 19, 2008


Weird Massachusetts - Paranormal Journeys
May 9, 2008

Paranormal Journeys - webcast

Water Ghosts: Theory of the Bobbing Heads and Floating Bodies - by Lee Prosser
May 9, 2008

Column - regular feature

The Shadows Know by Edward Shanahan
May 2, 2008


Weird Massachusetts with Jeff Belanger - Ghost Chronicles
April 23, 2008

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

American Negro Civil War Ghosts - by Lee Prosser
April 14, 2008

Column - regular feature

Landmark Ghosts By Beth Brown
April 3, 2008


The Lizzy Borden House - Ghost Chronicles
April 2, 2008

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Ghosts of Hollywood - Ghost Chronicles
March 19, 2008

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

On the Nature of Group Dynamics By Rick Moran
March 19, 2008


Billy The Kid - by Lee Prosser
March 12, 2008

Column - regular feature

Women in the Paranormal: Donna LaCroix
March 5, 2008


Women in the Paranormal: Amy Bruni
March 2, 2008


Women in the Paranormal: Ursula Bielski
February 28, 2008


Women in the Paranormal: L'Aura Hladik
February 25, 2008


Women in the Paranormal: Allison Andrews
February 22, 2008


Haunted Cape Cod and the Islands - Ghost Chronicles
February 20, 2008

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Women in the Paranormal: Rosemary Ellen Guiley
February 19, 2008


Women in the Paranormal: Lorraine Warren
February 16, 2008


The Ghosts of Tombstone - Paranormal Journeys
February 14, 2008

Paranormal Journeys - webcast

Valentine's Day Special - Ghost Chronicles
February 13, 2008

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Magick and Magic, What is the Difference? - by Lee Prosser
February 13, 2008

Column - regular feature

My Theory on Spirits of the Paranormal by Edward Shanahan
February 1, 2008


Investigating the Sance with U.K. psychic Gavin Cromwell - Ghost Chronicles
January 30, 2008

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Electronic Voice Phenomena is affected by Solar Weather by Tom Ginther
January 21, 2008


The Concord Colonial Inn - Ghost Chronicles
January 16, 2008

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Ghost Cat - by Lee Prosser
January 15, 2008

Column - regular feature

The Lizzie Borden House - Paranormal Journeys
January 11, 2008

Paranormal Journeys - webcast

Russian Ghosts - Ghost Chronicles
January 9, 2008

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Shadows Of Evil by Rick Hayes
January 4, 2008


Haunted Devon, UK - Ghost Chronicles
January 2, 2008

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Magickal Rings - by Lee Prosser
January 2, 2008

Column - regular feature



January 21, 2008

Electronic Voice Phenomena is affected by Solar Weather

By Tom Ginther

I recently got re-interested in recording Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) and after some initial good results in which I heard clear voices played back through headphones, the results became inconsistent. I had not changed my technique and was recording about the same time everyday I did this. I also settled on one digital recorder that seemed to give me the best quality sound. I had read somewhere that terrestrial and space weather may have an effect on EVP recording. If there is a way of predicting if EVP will be poor before hand or after the fact, I would know that it was not the fault of me or the "talkers" if I recorded poor EVP; but maybe something in the environment.

I preformed twenty eight recording sessions between November 11, 2007 and December 28, 2007 averaging five minutes and thirty seconds in length. They were all done within one hour of 4:00 PM in twelve different locations in rural Halifax County, Virginia. I frequently walk two dogs for about an hour and a half when I get off work, hence the consistent time. There are a number of abandoned farm houses on my walk that I have been haunting for the last few years... so much so that I am now on a first name basis with some of non-physical inhabitants.

For those few readers that do not understand what EVP is, the concept is an inaudible voice or other sound is recorded on the magnetic tape or disc of a recording device, or directly onto the sound program of a computer. Upon playback an audible sound is heard that cannot be accounted for by any physical source at the time of the recording. In my case an example is I am the only living human in a house that is about one mile away from any other living humans. The house has been empty for about forty-five years and has no power near it. I ask questions with a digital recorder running and when I later play the recording back, I hear voices and sometimes answers to my questions.

My method was as follows: I would record in one of the locations using a digital recorder, (I settled on an Olympus that could be plugged into a USB port for easy downloading), and ask questions about objects left in the houses and buildings, what they were used for, who made them, how's it going, etc. I would then download them to my hard drive and use sound recording/playback software for listening. There are a number of playback and sound analyzing programs out there and folks have their preferences, I am using WavePad because I find it easy to use; I am sure there are better and worse ones, but someone else can debate that. Maybe I am over analytical but it takes me at least thirty minutes to fully listen to five minutes of recording. I would then grade each EVP by the A-B-C criteria established by the American Association-EVP and add to an Excel spread sheet. Basically an A can be heard without headphones and people can generally agree on its content, a B requires headphones to distinguish and not everyone will agree on the message, and a C requires headphones, may require amplification and filtering, and will not be heard by everyone.

I visited a weather Web site that keeps data for each day and listed the temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure. I then went to a Web site that does the same for solar flares, solar wind speed, and proton density, and added that to the spreadsheet for each date that I recorded on. I then sorted by first, total number of EVPs for each date, second, number of B EVPs, and then last the number of A EVPs. Below is the spreadsheet:

EVP Graph

Solar Flares GraphAfter sorting, it became clear that solar flares do affect EVP quantity and quality. As you can see the first nine ranked had totals of six to eleven EVP, and more B grades with flares at the minimum in the A-0 range. The bottom nine only had zero to two EVP each, and flares from A-0 up to A-8 on through to B-4. Solar flares are rated from A-0 to B, C, M, and X-8; with the X class being capable of satellite damage and electric grid black outs.

Also noted was the top fourteen had an average solar wind proton density of 1.59 as compared to the bottom with an average of 2.25. The density and wind speed vary throughout the day as it buffers the Earth's magnetic shield, and that may explain some of the EVP in the middle of the data with flares in the C class. Other than that, the temperature, barometric pressure, and humidity were pretty close between the top and bottom half.

As far as where the EVP were taken, I initially thought you had to be in a haunted area as that is what we investigate for CPRI, but I seldom got anything when on a case. So I started out in the old abandoned farm houses back in the woods around my house in rural Virginia, and started out with good results. Then after reading that once you make contact you should be able to record EVP anywhere; I started in my tree stand while I was waiting for a deer to come by and had some good results there as well. I also did one session in my living room and captured five EVP with two in the B class.

Haunted houseSo I am sure readers are wondering what I was recording; so let me start out with Mr. Rogers. About three years ago I was walking and carrying a camera, as I take a lot of pictures and have photographed a number of ghosts. I took a picture of an old empty house and captured Mr. Rogers in his doorway; (see picture and crop of door way) after talking to his grandchildren, I found out he had been dead for about thirty years and the house was empty for about two. From my tree stand I could see the house about four tenths of a mile away, so I though I would attempt to talk to him as well as other people I knew had passed on and see if I could pick up their voices. On December 4, 2007, I asked Mr. Rogers, "Are you about?" and the reply is "#*&@ no." On December 14, I ask Mr. Rogers, "Can you speak?" and I hear someone saying, "Mr. Rogers, speak," a pause then, "#*&@ You." On December 19, I say, "Mr. Rogers you have gotten ornery since you died," and again I hear "#*&@ you." Finally, on December 28, I ask about him or if there is anyone else about and I hear, "What's it to ya?"

Close-up of the doorwayIn another house that has been empty since the sixties, I took a picture of a woman and child while I was in the house looking out of the door way (see picture) and I recorded a number of EVP in there as well. There was an old beat up rocking chair and I asked, "Who's chair is this?" and I hear, "Mommy use that chair." There was a rock on the floor in the upstairs bedroom and I asked, "Where did it come from?" and the answer was, "What rock?" There is the name "Marie" in chalk on a rafter, and I asked if this is her bedroom and I hear, "Audrey's," a pause, then, "Bedroom cold at night." There is another larger, two-story house that I have visited the most and am greeted by my first name. I have been greeted by, "Hi, Tom" more than once, and, "Bye, Tom, goodbye, Tom" when I leave. Recently, I walked in on a conversation while bringing in some pine and Holly branches to hang above one of the fire places and stated by chance that it was a couple of days before Christmas. This is what I heard in the first minute when I played it back after I got home, "Her father made me an offer, Brian's fault, I had a girl friend," three different voices, then, "What day is it? Hey Tom, what day is it?" Once I was upstairs and I asked, "Is there anyone here?" and someone said, "Good evening." I tell them, "Do you realize you all are dead?" and I hear, "Oh no."

ApparitionI asked, "Who owns this house?" and heard, "Bradley." I comment that Bush is president and someone says, "Reagan." In an old outbuilding behind this house, I found a stick sharpened on both ends and I ask what it was for, and someone says, "Tony made that." My dog was with me and wanted to come in, and I tell him, "Jack, get out," and someone says, "Where is the dog?" I asked what was this building used for, and the answer was, "Just an old pen."

A short distance away in a building called a pack house that was full of junk, there is a pair of shoes and I ask "Whose are these?" and someone said, "They're mother's old shoes." I asked for a name and get, "Sandy Brain." I asked how many of you are here, and I get, "I really don't want to speak." These are just a few of the 123 I collected.

These vary in quality; some are clear, and some need some amplification and filtering, and not everyone will always agree on what is recorded. After you listen to enough EVP, you will develop an ear for it. Most are preceded by a series of clicks and sometimes a static or buzzing sound, the voices are often whispered and sing-song, sometimes reversed, and seldom loud. Most are spoken fast and are best heard when played back at a reduced speed. I am by no means an expert, and this has been a good learning experience that will help me with paranormal research in the future. There are a number of Internet sites that deal with EVP and I have found the American Association EVP most helpful.

For my own purposes this exercise was a success as I now know that a number of factors influence whether an EVP is recorded on an investigation or not. I cannot assume that a lack of any EVP during a haunting investigation is the result of a lack of any paranormal activity and must take solar activity into account.


Tom GintherTom Ginther lives in rural Halifax County Virginia and has been a field investigator for MUFON since the mid-nineties. He is the Southern Virginia Regional Director for the Center for Paranormal Research and Investigation, and is a field worker for Nancy Talbott's crop circle research group, BLT.



2014 Haunted New England Wall Calendar by Jeff Belanger photography by Frank Grace
Check out the 2014 Haunted New England wall calendar by Jeff Belanger and photography by Frank Grace!


Paranormal Conferences and Lectures
Don't miss the following events and lectures:

Jeff Belanger and “The Bridgewater Triangle” at Dedham Community Theatre - April 6, 2014 9:00PM

The Spirits of the Mark Twain House - Hartford, Connecticut - April 12, 2014

Paracon Australia - East Maitland, New South Wales, Australia - May 10-12, 2014